Soul Photo Net -- Photoblog / Weblog

Racism / Prejudice

Saturday, October 25, 2008

For those that feel that racism no longer exists in America.

A young man went to ‘Journey’s’ (shoe store) in Kansas City, MO. He bought a pair of shoes and then saw an identical pair at a different store for less. As such, he bought the identical shoes from the cheaper store and took back the original more pricey pair to Journey’s. Later on that night, as we has reviewing the receipt, he noticed that the reason for the return was ‘Dumb Nigger’. When he took the receipt back to the store, they didn’t even apologize but did admit that said ‘reason’ was in the system

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

New York City Darfur Events - September 24 & 25

NYC Darfur Events - September 24 & 25

Dear
Darfur Supporter,

We are
pleased to invite you to two events that will place needed
pressure on United Nations member states during the U.N. General
Assembly. These events will focus on the International Criminal
Count, UNAMID peacekeepers, and ending the arms trade that
allows the genocide to continue with impunity.

China: No More Arms to
Sudan!

September 24, 2008

12:00 p.m.

Chinese Mission to the United Nations

350 East 35th Street

New York, NY 10016

The
Olympics are over, but the fact remains: China continues to
underwrite the genocide in Darfur. In October, China takes over
the presidency of the United Nations Security Council. In this
leadership position, we can’t let China off the hook. Join AJWS
and Darfur advocacy partners for a protest highlighting China’s
almost exclusive sale of small arms to Sudan and calling for an
expanded UN arms embargo on Sudan. Events will be coordinated in
four other cities across the country.
href="http://action.savedarfur.org/ct/5pMjcwp17cHu/">To
participate in this important action please sign up
now.Sponsored by American Jewish World
Service.

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No More Delays in Darfur: Peacekeepers and
Justice Now!

Close the
gap between promises and reality: Call on the United Nations to
honor its commitment to protect the people of Darfur.

The Save Darfur Coalition is an
alliance of over 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations whose
mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to
mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of more
than two million people in the Darfur region. To learn more, please visit http://www.SaveDarfur.org.

It accuses France of training Hutu militias responsible for the slaughter, helping plan the genocide, and participating in the killings.

“French forces directly assassinated Tutsis and Hutus accused of hiding Tutsis… French forces committed several rapes on Tutsi survivors,” said a statement from the justice ministry cited by AFP news agency.

“Considering the seriousness of the alleged crimes, the Rwandan government has urged the relevant authorities to bring the accused French politicians and military officials to justice,” the statement said.

It further alleged that French forces did nothing to challenge checkpoints used by Hutu forces in the genocide.

“They clearly requested that the Interahamwes contine to man those checkpoints and kill Tutsis attempting to flee,” it said.

The BBC’s Geoffrey Mutagoma in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, says the commission spent nearly two years investigating France’s alleged role in the genocide.

It heard testimonies from genocide survivors, researchers, writers and reporters.

The 500-page document was presented to the Rwanda’s government last November, but was not made public until now.

Rwanda has repeatedly accused France of arming and training the Hutu militias that perpetrated the genocide, and of dragging its feet in co-operating with the investigations that followed.

France has maintained that its forces helped protect civilians during a UN-sanctioned mission in Rwanda at the time.

The two countries have had a frosty relationship since 2006 when a French judge implicated Rwandan President Paul Kagame in the downing in 1994 of then-President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane - an event widely seen as triggering the killings.

President Kagame has always denied the charge.

He says Mr Habyarimana, a Hutu, was killed by Hutu extremists who then blamed the incident on Tutsi rebels to provide the pretext for the genocide.

There are hopeful signs, and your activism has made a profound difference. The recent joint statement on Darfur from Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama was historic - the first time since World War II that presidential rivals have come together on a foreign policy issue.

But the people of Darfur shouldn’t have to weather seven more months of unspeakable atrocities until a new U.S. president takes office. We will continue to demand accountability from the current president, from those who want to be president, and from everyone with the power to address this humanitarian crisis.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Please join Dream for Darfur and the Save Darfur Coalition

Please join Dream for Darfur and the Save Darfur Coalition for a nationwide protest against the silence of Olympic corporate sponsors on the Darfur crisis.

On June 20, U.N. World Refugee Day, activists across the country will gather at stores and headquarters of four sponsors of the Beijing Olympics - Coca-Cola, General Electric, Swatch and Volkswagen - and demand that they use their partnership with the Chinese government to help end genocide in Darfur.

What: Spotlight on the Sponsors Day of Action

When: Friday, June 20, 4:30 p.m.

Where: Coca-Cola Co.

711 5th Ave.

New York, NY 10022

The Chinese government has not done enough to help end genocide in Darfur. Yet, as it prepares for the 2008 Olympic Games, the Chinese government is attempting to cloak itself in the Olympic ideals of peace and brotherhood and cover up its failure to act on Darfur.

And the Olympic corporate sponsors have refused to urge China to act.

The corporate sponsors cannot turn a blind eye to genocide. Join us on June 20 and demand that they speak out to China about Darfur.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Reports are that the government is detaining, torturing and killing Darfuris in and around Khartoum

Violence in Sudan is escalating. The Justice and Equality Movement, a Darfuri rebel group, attacked Khartoum on Saturday in an attempt to topple the Sudanese regime. The government has reportedly stopped the attempt.

In retaliation to the attacks, there is already news of widespread atrocities against Darfuri civilians.

The situation in Darfur is dire. Violence is affecting every aspect of life in Darfur, including food supplies. The U.N. has been forced to cut its food aid shipments in half because its trucks are often hijacked before they get to the people in need.

President Bush must immediately use the full force of American diplomacy to urge all sides to exercise restraint, protect civilians, and to begin a just and inclusive peace process. President Bush must also use the U.S. presidency of the U.N. Security Council in June to ensure full deployment of the UNAMID peacekeeping force for Darfur, and to punish those who attack civilians.

The international community is falling tragically short of our mandate and our moral obligation in Darfur. There is hope, but only if the most powerful actors on the world stage are serious about ending the genocide.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

United Nations World Food Program will cut in half its food supplies to the people of Darfur.

Last week, the United Nations World Food Program announced that it will cut half its food supplies to the people of Darfur because of a lack of funds and relentless attacks on its convoys.

Millions of Darfuris depend on this food supply. Without it, they will be pushed even closer to the knife-sharp edge of starvation.

Inaction is not an option when so many lives are at stake.

Congress is preparing to vote on a bill that will significantly increase funding for humanitarian aid and peacekeeping in Darfur. Your representative needs to hear from you NOW because the men, women, and children of Darfur cannot afford any more delays.

Tell Representative Saxton to support funding for security and humanitarian aid in Darfur.

Additional funding for Darfur can bring hope to the thousands who have weathered half a decade of genocide. It can provide peacekeepers with training and equipment to protect Darfuri civilians. It can deliver disaster and famine assistance to families desperately in need. And it can help the people of Sudan move towards democracy and determine their own path to peace.

We must meet our obligation to the people of Darfur. Congress has the purse strings. You have the voice. Make sure your voice – and the collective voice of hundreds of thousands of Darfuris – is heard.

Urge your representative to stand up for Darfur and fully fund peacekeeping and humanitarian aid.

With the United Nations World Food Program cutting its food aid to Darfur, the clock is ticking faster and louder than ever - we must act quickly to try to fill this crucial gap.

After you have sent a message to your representative, please click here to ask your friends and family to do the same.

Monday, February 04, 2008

The House of Representatives Must Act

Sudanese President Bashir is brashly defying the international community - again. We need the help of China - Sudan’s biggest ally - to put an end to the outrage.

Tell your representative to ask China for help.

What did Sudanese President Bashir do with a world-infamous war criminal? He gave him a promotion.

Bashir has appointed the militia leader who helped orchestrate genocide in Darfur as a senior adviser on ethnic affairs.

This brash and consistent defiance of the U.N. won’t stop - not as long as Bashir has China to protect him.

We must tell China that enough is enough, and our representatives can help. Leaders in Congress are gathering support for an official letter to President Hu of China letting him know that his indifference toward Darfur is unacceptable.

As you know, China is Sudan’s largest trade partner and foreign investor. It is Sudan’s biggest defender in the international community, and it is the regime’s largest arms supplier. But China played a crucial role in getting Sudan to agree to a hybrid peacekeeping force last summer.

Simply put, China has the power to put an end to the games Bashir is playing.

Our representatives must pressure the Chinese government to lead the world community and end the violence in Darfur.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Obama takes on question of his Christianity

This is just sickening to me. The last thing I care about is the religious preference of a person because what comes out of their mouth is less important than how they carry themselves. I know many people that consider themselves members of religions that act as if GOD doesn’t exist. They belittle others and act like heathens.

Who cares if Obama is a Muslim, Christian or whatever? No religion has a patent on good behavior. It is really sad that people choose to stoop to these sort of tactics. Regardless if he is Muslim, Christian, or Atheist, if he pledges to support the Constitution then he should be trusted to do that. Hell, we trusted Christian George W. Bush to do it and look where we are now. Do you actually think that Bush’s version of Christian vows are supportive to the cause of Christianity. Is Bush a good ambassador for converting people to Christianity? I don’t think so. Let’s keep religion out of politics. Or, better yet, let’s all be good Americans and let people choose their own religion without proselytizing or berating a person if they choose something different than you do.

OK?

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 21, 7:22 AM ET

Barack Obama is stepping up his effort to correct the misconception that he’s a Muslim now that the presidential campaign has hit the Bible Belt.

At a rally to kick off a weeklong campaign for the South Carolina primary, Obama tried to set the record straight from an attack circulating widely on the Internet that is designed to play into prejudices against Muslims and fears of terrorism.

“I’ve been to the same church — the same Christian church — for almost 20 years,” Obama said, stressing the word Christian and drawing cheers from the faithful in reply. “I was sworn in with my hand on the family Bible. Whenever I’m in the United States Senate, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. So if you get some silly e-mail ... send it back to whoever sent it and tell them this is all crazy. Educate.”

Obama is referring to a debunked chain e-mail circulating widely on the Internet that suggests he is hiding his Islamic roots and may be a terrorist in disguise. It says he was sworn into the Senate on the Quran and turns his back on the flag during the pledge.

There are some truths in the e-mail’s details. Obama’s middle name is Hussein. His father and stepfather were Muslim. And he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, a largely Muslim country. But he attended secular and Catholic schools, not a radical madrassa.

His campaign has been pushing back against the false rumors all year. His aides decried an incorrect news report that Obama was educated in a Muslim madrassa and a section of his Web site is devoted to correct that and other false rumors circulating on the Internet.

But they are stepping up the effort now that the campaign has hit South Carolina and soon turns to other southern states where religion is so important to voters. The campaign distributed an open letter from seven Jewish senators this weekend condemning the attacks; aides are planning an event this week to respond directly to the e-mails; and campaign representatives blanketed South Carolina churches Sunday with literature that touted Obama’s Christian faith.

One piece features photos of Obama praying with the words “COMMITTED CHRISTIAN” in large letters across the middle. It says Obama will be a president “guided by his Christian faith” and includes a quote from him saying, “I believe in the power of prayer.”

A second piece, which like the first doesn’t mention the Muslim rumor, includes photos of Obama with his family and a caption that says they are active members of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. It explains how as a young man Obama “felt a beckoning of the spirit and accepted Jesus Christ into his life.”

Obama says he’s going to fight harder against other mischaracterizations about his positions that he says are being perpetrated by rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband, the former president.

“When I see Senator Clinton, President Clinton distort my words ... that is not a way to move the debate forward, that is not a way to help the American people,” Obama said during his rally at the Columbia Convention Center. “I am not running for president just to become president, I’m running to help the American people. I’m not willing to say or do anything just to win an election.”

The Clinton campaign suggested the former president would continue pointing out what it says are inconsistencies in Obama’s record.

“President Clinton is a huge asset to our campaign and will continue talking to the American people to press the case for Senator Clinton,” said Clinton spokesman Phil Singer.

Obama adviser Steve Hildebrand said the campaign has organized “truth squads” made up of South Carolina supporters ready to defend Obama’s record from any attacks made by the Clintons this week.

In an interview broadcast Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Obama said the former president “has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling” by making statements that are not supported by the facts.

“This has become a habit, and one of the things that we’re going to have to do is to directly confront Bill Clinton when he’s making statements that are not factually accurate,” Obama said.

The Clinton campaign responded to Obama’s interview with ABC by posting a fact check on a campaign Web site in an effort to bolster Bill Clinton’s arguments against Obama.

“We understand Senator Obama is frustrated by his loss in Nevada, but facts are facts,” Singer said.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

A Citizen’s Reflections on Race, Violence and Power

By Cynthia Boaz
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Sunday 16 December 2007

On December 10, the social justice community in Rochester, New York commemorated the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The themes of the evening’s panel discussion were race and racism, and most of the attention was given to the shockingly high rate of black-on-black violence perpetuated by young men against other young men in this community. Although the discussion was occasionally contentious, most people in the room seemed to agree upon several things: 1) the problem is not unique to the upstate New York region and this issue is equally relevant in Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and another half dozen cities across the United States; 2) the epidemic has something to do with the legacy of slavery; 3) structural and institutional racism perpetuate the problem by ensuring that most blacks who find themselves on the lowest rungs of the class ladder stay there, and 4) the responsibility for addressing the issue lies with both the individual and the community. Many people - both black and white - also shared concern that the extraordinary advances made by the Civil Rights Movement are being undermined on one hand by de-facto segregation, and on the other by legalized discrimination, the most visible form of which is racial profiling by law enforcement.

One member of the audience (who happened to be black, although I am a bit troubled that I feel compelled to note that) wondered openly whether the violence was a form of “pathology” unique to the black community, and many others asked for tools that they could apply in their own work with black youth. As I left the event, I found myself reflecting on these questions, and I came to the conclusion that the answers to both may revolve largely around a concept that, strangely, was absent from our collective discussion: power. Slavery - the institutionalized ownership of one human being by another - is arguably the most disempowering system ever created by humans. It is intended to degrade and humiliate to the point that a person no longer feels agency over his own life. Like other systems of injustice, its effects can run so deep that when the institution is removed, the sense of indignity continues for members of the formerly repressed group until there is an open and comprehensive addressing of past injustices and the pain caused by the systematic abuse. In the last 25 years, in countries recovering from severe oppression, “Truth and Reconciliation Commissions” have been set up to accomplish these tasks. Peru, South Africa, Morocco and East Timor are just a few of the places where TRCs have helped their societies heal and have facilitated reform by acknowledging past wrongs and ensuring that the horrors of history will not be repeated.

Because there has been no significant attempt to deal with the history of slavery in this country, it is as though our collective mind has been asked to exist in a state of cognitive dissonance. There are no national monuments in the US to former slaves, although they exist for almost every other group who has sacrificed for the “vital interests” of the nation. As a country, we prefer to pretend that slavery never happened, or that it existed too long ago to be relevant to our lives today. This historical amnesia comes easier to some than to others, and it may be that those who have the hardest time reconciling some sense of injustice with the legal rights afforded to every American are young black men. They know that they should feel powerful - after all, they are young and living in the “world’s greatest democracy.” But for many there must also be (what I imagine as) a constant, gnawing sense of indignity whose source may be vague, and which is easily manifested in rage, aggression, and other substitutes for true empowerment. To a young, misguided and righteously indignant person, a gun equals power.

The truth is that violence is the opposite of real power. Where genuine power exists, force is not needed. But where power is perceived as unattainable, violence becomes seen as the only alternative for those with legitimate grievances. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put it eloquently when he said “Those who make nonviolent revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable.” He understood that serious societal ills would not resolve themselves, and the question was not whether issues of racism and injustice would be addressed, but how.

In light of this, I offer that as individuals we can empower ourselves and inspire others to do the same by having a stake in the development of our communities and by “dropping our bucket” (to borrow from the work of Dr. Larry Hudson of the University of Rochester). We must become rooted, activated members of both our local communities and the larger society. We have to stop living in isolation; as if what happens “out there” is only worthy of attention when it directly affects our own lives.

Second, collectively, we must reframe the public understanding of power. The political philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote, “Power corresponds to the human ability not just to act, but to act in concert.” Today, in our consumerist, technologically dependent and self-focused society, that view could not be more important. It should be our first task to publicly promote this understanding of the concept of power-as civic engagement in the truest meaning of the term. This is necessary both to defy the conventional wisdom that armed force equals power and to spur us into a long-overdue dialogue, and perhaps even our own Truth and Reconciliation Commission, on the legacy of our country’s most shameful history.

As citizens of the world’s self-proclaimed model democracy, by refusing to openly acknowledge the truth about our shared past and its present consequences, we are not just complicit in the pathology of an epidemic, we do all of humanity a disservice.

----------------------------------------------------------
Cynthia Boaz is assistant professor of political science and international studies at the State University of New York at Brockport. She resides in downtown Rochester, New York.

There’s an unbelievable huge light hidden in us. Through certain processes you have to bring that energy up then everything will be possible for you to recognize yourself.

President Bashir is rejecting key provisions of the U.N.
peacekeeping resolution - the same resolution his government
“unconditionally accepted” earlier this year. Bashir is now
adding conditions to the peacekeeping mission that would ensure
it will not be effective enough to actually protect civilians.

If we don’t respond forcefully now, the Sudanese government will
continue to try to finish what they’ve started in Darfur. Click
below to urge President Bush to engage his fellow world leaders
and pressure President Bashir to put the peacekeeping mission
back on track.
http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign/stop_bashir/ixxiisk41i5t3n8?

More than 2.5 million lives are hanging in the balance. The
people of Darfur need President Bush and other world leaders to
stand up to the Sudanese government and put a stop to their
deceitful attempts to continue waging violence against their own
people.

Los Angeles police plan to map Muslims in their homes.

The LAPD’s counterterrorism bureau plans to identify Muslim enclaves in order to determine which might be likely to become isolated and susceptible to “violent, ideologically based extremism,” said Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing on Thursday.

“We want to know where the Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens are so we can reach out to those communities,” said Downing, who heads the counterterrorism bureau.

Downing said the plan is still in its early stages, but the LAPD wants to work with a Muslim partner and intends to have the data assembled by the University of Southern California’s Center for Risk and Economic Analysis.

Downing testified about the plan before a U.S. Senate committee on Oct. 30.

In his testimony, Downing said his bureau wanted to “take a deeper look at the history, demographics, language, culture, ethnic breakdown, socioeconomic status and social interactions” of the city’s Muslim communities.

There are an estimated 500,000 Muslims in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.

On Thursday, several Muslim groups and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California sent Downing a letter expressing “grave concerns” about the program.

“Singling out individuals for investigation, surveillance, and data-gathering based on their religion constitutes religious profiling that is just as unlawful, ill-advised and deeply offensive as racial profiling,” said the letter.

It was signed by representatives of the ACLU of Southern California; Muslim Advocates, a national association of Muslim lawyers; the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The plan “basically turns the LAPD officers into religious political analysts, while their role is to fight crime and enforce the laws,” said Hussam Ayloush, head of the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who signed the letter.

However, another group, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, is considering working with the LAPD on the project.

“We will work with the LAPD and give them input, while at the same time making sure that people’s civil liberties are protected,” said Salam al-Marayati, the council’s executive director.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Divest for Darfur National Grassroots Action

There is an important divestment rally coming up in New York City. Join the NYC Coalition to Save Darfur and Brooklyn Parents for Peace and demand that JPMorgan Chase divest from companies that help fund the genocide in Darfur.

The rally, to be held at noon on Monday, October 15, outside JPMorgan Chase headquarters, is part of a National Day of Action. You will join thousands of activists around the country urging the top offending investment firms - including JPMorgan Chase - to divest for Darfur.

The National Divest for Darfur Day of Action was organized to encourage investment firms, especially JP Morgan, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Investments, Capital Group (American Funds), and Vanguard, to withdraw investments from companies that help fund genocide in Darfur. Millions of Americans have their retirement funds invested through these firms and are inadvertently investing in genocide. The goal of divestment is to put economic pressure on the Sudanese government to end the violence.